More than a week has passed since Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi vanished after visiting the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul. Turkish authorities are telling journalists what they think happened, citing released video footage: that Khashoggi was targeted and murdered.

President Trump said Wednesday that he has spoken to the Saudi government "at the highest levels" about the situation.

"We cannot let this happen to reporters, to anybody. And we're going to get to the bottom of it," Trump said. He said the first lady's office was making arrangements to bring Khashoggi's fiancée, Turkish national Hatice Cengiz, to the White House.

In the days since Khashoggi disappeared, there have been few signs that the Trump administration was putting pressure on Riyadh to explain what had happened.

But in a statement Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that National Security Adviser John Bolton and Trump adviser Jared Kushner spoke to Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman yesterday about the matter. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also spoke with the crown prince "to reiterate the United States' request for information," Sanders said.

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that before Khashoggi disappeared, U.S. intelligence had intercepted communications in which the Saudis had been discussing a plot to abduct him. Khashoggi has been a contributing writer for The Post.

But on Wednesday, the State Department said the U.S. had no advance knowledge of Khashoggi's disappearance.

Turkish President Recep TayI wholeheartedly agree with this post, but I'm unable to contribute to the conversation in any meaningful way Erdogan has not directly accused Saudi Arabia of disappearing Khashoggi. He said if they have footage of Khashoggi leaving the consulate, they should release it, the Associated Press reports. Meanwhile, a newspaper close to Erdogan published the names and photographs of 15 Saudi men whom it said were sent to Istanbul to kill Khashoggi.

The version of events described by Turkish authorities is grisly. One Turkish security official told The New York Times that within two hours of arriving at the consulate, Khashoggi had been killed and dismembered with a bone saw that the Saudi team had brought. He compared the killing to the movie Pulp Fiction.

The Post obtained a series of surveillance video clips that purport to show movements involved in the killing or abduction of Khashoggi: the journalist entering the consulate; a black Mercedes leaving the consulate and then arriving at the consul general's house; Cengiz, his fiancée, pacing outside the consulate as she makes phone calls; the Saudi men leaving an Istanbul hotel and getting on planes at the airport. The Post notes that the clips have inconsistent time stamps at one point, are too blurry to make out key license plate numbers and are heavily edited throughout.

Khashoggi is a resident of the United States and has been living in Washington, D.C. The journalist is the former editor-in-chief of a Saudi newspaper and was an adviser to Saudi government officials. Khashoggi had written columns critical of the Saudi government in The Post in the past year.
In an op-ed published in The Post on Tuesday, Khashoggi's fiancée implored Trump and the first lady to become involved in the search for answers.

"I also urge Saudi Arabia, especially King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to show the same level of sensitivity and release CCTV footage from the consulate," Cengiz wrote. "Although this incident could potentially fuel a political crisis between the two nations, let us not lose sight of the human aspect of what happened. Jamal is a valuable person, an exemplary thinker and a courageous man who has been fighting for his principles."

So this is pretty simple. The person who was murdered was more than a journalist. He's been a muslim brotherhood member since the 70's. He's an activist who encourages sedition within Saudi Arabia to reinstall the muslim brotherhood into power. He's not a progressive dissident. He's a theocratic one.

Even his articles in the washington post are laden with praise for the MB.

I'm obviously against suppression of journalists, even activists who are sympathetic to terrorists and want to expel all western influence from the region to install an islamic superstate. I'm not going to hold the saudis to a special standard, especially since the Turks' reputation for attacking journalists is even worse than the Saudis.

The mainstream narrative, as usual, is filled with lies and omissions. I wouldn't make any dramatic policy decisions based on this. Overhyped story. Journalists disappear weekly in Turkey and I don't see anyone posting about THAT.

So this is pretty simple. The person who was murdered was more than a journalist. He's been a muslim brotherhood member since the 70's. He's an activist who encourages sedition within Saudi Arabia to reinstall the muslim brotherhood into power. He's not a progressive dissident. He's a theocratic one.

Even his articles in the washington post are laden with praise for the MB.

I'm obviously against suppression of journalists, even activists who are sympathetic to terrorists and want to expel all western influence from the region to install an islamic superstate. I'm not going to hold the saudis to a special standard, especially since the Turks' reputation for attacking journalists is even worse than the Saudis.

The mainstream narrative, as usual, is filled with lies and omissions. I wouldn't make any dramatic policy decisions based on this. Overhyped story. Journalists disappear weekly in Turkey and I don't see anyone posting about THAT.

Yes. Under other circumstances his death would have been counted a net gain for us. Neither side comes with clean hands here. The rush to believe the Turkish version of the facts here is very premature. Their state newspaper story about it being recorded on the apple watch is full of holes.

What major war would it lead to? Is Turkey going to go to war with Saudi Arabia for killing a Saudi Arabian dissident?

Most that would happen is that Turkey would declare most of the Saudi embassy staff as Persona Non Grata. If the Saudi's refuse to remove them then you might see the Turks remove them by force ie storming the Saudi embassy.

Most that would happen is that Turkey would declare most of the Saudi embassy staff as Persona Non Grata. If the Saudi's refuse to remove them then you might see the Turks remove them by force ie storming the Saudi embassy.

Yep. The US needs to make the proper showing of concern then diplomatically leave them to settle it between themselves.